


Seared

by SideBlog



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Blood and Injury, Canon: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Gen, Missing Scene, Serious Injuries, Spoilers for FMA:B and the manga, a nice short one-shot full of pain and agony, basically when Roy closes his wound after fighting Lust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:07:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25851067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SideBlog/pseuds/SideBlog
Summary: Roy Mustang had to help Havoc. He had to find Lust. Most urgently, however, he had to close this damn wound.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	Seared

Pain.

That was the only thing Roy Mustang could feel right now. A searing, scorching, burning pain, more intense than any pain he had ever felt in his life. The pain pulled at him, pressing him further and further against the ground. It was overwhelming, but he couldn't let himself fall victim to it. He couldn't let pain become the only thing he felt. That would be quitting, and Roy Mustang is no quitter.

He took a deep, shaky breath, and tried to refocus.

He was on the ground. He was soaking wet. His torso was burning hot. He could barely breathe.

Ah, that's right. Lust had stabbed him.

Mustang was ready to lay down and die, right there. Any ambitions, any motivations, they were all gone. The pain was enough to leave only one desirable option: death.

In his head, a slew of memories came back, reminding him of why he had to live.

Hawkeye. His trusted subordinate. She would never forgive him for dying here. And she would never forgive herself, either. Mustang started to tremble at the realization that he can _not_ leave her. He can't leave her all alone. They had so much left to do, together.

Next, strangely enough, he thought of Fullmetal. He was the reason he was in this whole mess to begin with! If Mustang died here, he couldn't protect him. And lord knows the little bastard would get himself killed soon enough.

Finally, and perhaps most urgently, he thought of Havoc. He was certain his subordinate was nearby, somewhere, bleeding out. Helpless. There was _no one_ else around, so the only one who could possibly help was himself.

 _Alright, Mustang, time to get up_ , he mentally growled at himself. His hand covered the wound in his side, burning and screaming at him not to move. Slowly, he pressed his other hand on the ground and forced himself to sit up. His arm trembled under the weight of his nearly limp body. His eyes scanned the room and quickly landed on Havoc's body.

Completely still.

"Havoc..." Mustang tried, his voice coming out as barely a hiss. He could taste blood. He spat and tried again. "Havoc!"

The man didn't move.

With a groan, Mustang tried to drag his body over to his subordinate. But before he could even move an inch, a sharp pain shot through his side, and he cried out, collapsing back on the ground.

He curled in on himself, desperately clutching at his wound. _Stop bleeding, stop bleeding, stop bleeding!_ He ordered himself. His body didn't listen. He was overwhelmed by the tidal wave of pain washing over him. It dragged him down, deeper, deeper into a dark sea. He was quickly slipping away from himself.

But this is _not_ how Roy Mustang goes out. He stubbornly clawed his way out of the dark sea, pushing past the tidal wave, and resurfacing. With a gasp, he shuddered on the ground, waking himself up from near death.

He won't be able to help anyone in this state.

His first instinct is to close the wound, but Lust had destroyed his ignition gloves. He looked around for some for some form of inspiration, and his eyes fell on Havoc's lighter, a little bit past his limp hand. With a grunt, Roy propped himself up on his elbows and dragged himself over to the lighter. He reached out with a shaky hand and snagged it.

Okay, source of fire, check. Now, transmutation circle?

Roy's vision was going blurry, with the edges of the world going black. He tried to breathe regularly, blinking rapidly, hoping that the blackness would subside.

He had to work quickly, before the entire world went dark.

He grabbed a piece of rubble, sharpened by Lust's crazy fingers. He clutched it in his hand and looked around. The entire ground was soaked, it was impossible to draw a proper array in the room. He needed a good surface. Somewhere where he could easily control the flame. He could _not_ mess this up, that would mean his life, as well as Jean's.

His hands. The best alchemic control came from his hands. But without his gloves, he was left to draw his own array.

Mustang snarled and brought the sharp piece to the back of his hand. No turning back.

He dug the piece into his skin, drawing blood. His breath hitched as he drew the piece around his hand in a circle, carving his skin. The pain was bad, but it wasn't nearly as bad as being stabbed by Lust. And it wasn't going to be as bad as what came next.

His breath hissed through his clenched teeth as he scratched the array onto the back of his hand. Warm blood dripped down his arm. At the last detail, the salamander at the bottom of the array, Roy gasped with pain and let the sharp rubble fall back to the ground.

The easy part was done. With a grunt, Roy unbuttoned his jacket. Next, he unbuttoned the shirt underneath, revealing his bare torso, and a large wound that brought the taste of vomit into his throat. He looked away.

Shakily, Roy put his carved-up hand on his stomach, over his wound. In his other hand, he started to flick at the beat-up lighter. Like before, it refused to light. Mustang grit his teeth and kept trying. He had to close the wound, or Jean would die here.

The lighter flickered to life in his hand. He sighed, watching the tiny flame flutter in front of his face. Slowly, he laid back down on the ground, holding the lighter up above him. He relaxed his body as much as possible.

Then, the array on his hand started to glow. The flame from the lighter surged and flew right to his wound, licking at his skin. Roy managed to get through a few solid seconds just gritting through it, a pained groan pushing against his teeth.

But, before long, his jaw unlocked and his screams filled the flooded room.

His cries of pain echoed in his ears as he thrashed about, throwing his head back and forth, water splashing up on him. Despite everything, he kept the flame focused on his wound.

He knew fire, and he knew the heat was searing the wound closed. It was only a little longer now. He gasped for breath, heaving and panting, sweat beading down his forehead. After a few more gasps, he started to scream again.

He hoped the Lieutenant couldn't hear him.

His scream faded out as his eyes rolled back. The flames went out, and the lighter clattered to the wet ground. Roy went limp, his hand flopping on top of his stomach.

God, he felt hotter than he had ever been in his life.

 _Stay awake, stay awake, stay awake,_ he told himself as his eyes closed, lids feeling as heavy as lead, his face damp and sticky with a solid layer of glistening sweat. The voice scolding him in his head sounded suspiciously like Hawkeye. _Stay awake, dammit!_

His eyes peeled open, bloodshot and filled with agony.

_Stay awake, for Havoc._

His head rolled over as he glanced back at Havoc's unmoving body. He tried to sit up, but his burn cried out in pain. Roy let a yelp escape his lips, falling back to the ground.

_Get up. Get that stone._

He snarled, eyebrows furrowing. He propped himself up on his elbow. His burn pinched at the action, shooting pain through his torso. He hissed and sat up. Then, he stood.

He stumbled, catching himself on the wall. He curled his arm around his stomach, doubling over. His knees shook, but he remained standing.

He needed to get that stone.

He grunted, grabbing the lighter with his scratched-up hand, his new choice of weapon. He looked down at Jean's body, face-down on the ground.

"Stay alive a little longer, Havoc," Roy hissed, his voice quiet but brimming with determination. "I'll come back for you, I promise."

He didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay by Havoc's side, beg for him to wake up and say something sarcastic. Maybe ask for a cigarette. But he couldn't. He had to find Lust before she got to Hawkeye. He had to find her, save Hawkeye, take that stone-

-and incinerate that damn homunculus until she stayed dead.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked this one-shot! It's my first FMA work, and it was really fun to write! Thank you for reading!


End file.
